Dallas Employment Lawyer Blog

New Year, Same Tactics: How to Stay One Step Ahead of Your Employer Going Into 2026

January 5, 2026 | Robert J. Wiley

For many Dallas employees, December feels like the worst time to deal with a work problem. Everyone is juggling holiday travel, office potlucks, and year-end deadlines, and it’s extremely tempting to tell yourself, “I’ll deal with that in January.” We hear this all the time. Employees want to rock around the Christmas tree, not rock the boat, and employers often count on that hesitation. Unfortunately, your workplace rights don’t take a holiday break, no matter how much we wish the law would let us hit “pause” until after New Year’s.

The truth is that waiting can have real consequences. Employment laws run on strict timelines, evidence can disappear quickly, and employers make major decisions in December that can shape your case long before the new year ever arrives. As cozy as it sounds to postpone everything until January, that delay can close doors you didn’t even know were closing.

One of the most important reasons not to put off seeking advice is the legal deadlines that apply to discrimination and retaliation claims. In Texas, employees generally have 300 days from the date of an adverse action to file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC explains these filing rules clearly on their website. Meanwhile, state-level claims filed through the Texas Workforce Commission often have even shorter timelines. Here’s the part many employees don’t realize: the clock keeps ticking regardless of holidays, holiday parties, or your supervisor being “OOO until January 3.” If your boss retaliated against you in March or April, December might be your last chance to preserve your rights.

Texas Sales Representative Act provides rare protections for contractors

December 29, 2025 | Robert J. Wiley

Summary: This blog briefly discusses what it means to be an independent contractor or employee. In particular, it goes over some special rights afforded to sales representatives who are contractors in Texas.

In employment law, a lot can turn on whether you are considered an employee or an independent contractor. Legally, whether someone is an employee and not an independent contractor largely depends on the level of “control” the employer has over the person’s day-to-day work. The more freedom someone has to set their own schedule, control their own work quality, use their own supplies, and choose where or with whom they want to work, the more likely they are to be an independent contractor and not an employee. On the other hand, whether your employer labels you a contractor or issues a Form 1099 to you at the end of the year are relatively unimportant. Although on paper being a contractor can sound great, unfortunately some employers may deliberately misclassify employees as contractors.

That is because, in Texas, those considered independent contractors are typically afforded fewer rights than employees. They generally do not get any of the benefits employees do. And an independent contractor is generally exempt from most civil rights protections or similar laws that protect employees. Really, the only protections that a contractor can typically rely on are those in their written contract itself (if they have one at all).

Fired Right Before the Holidays? Severance, Unemployment, and Your Next Moves

December 22, 2025 | Cassidy Monska

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Cassidy Monska

Fired Right Before the Holidays? Severance, Unemployment, and Your Next Moves

Getting terminated right before the holidays can feel devastating. Beyond the emotional impact, you need to act quickly to protect your rights and financial stability. Here’s a practical checklist to guide your next steps.

Is your employer the Grinch who stole tips? A guide to the FLSA’s regulations regarding tipped employees.

December 14, 2025 | Riley Carter

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Riley Carter

When it comes to tipped employees, few issues create more confusion—and more lawsuits—than who legally owns the tips. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets strict rules about how tips must be handled, when employers can take a “tip credit,” and whether managers or non-tipped staff may participate in tip pools. Recent amendments and Department of Labor (DOL) guidance have also tightened restrictions on tip retention, increasing the stakes for compliance.

Below is a clear breakdown of the current legal landscape governing tips under the FLSA.

A Guide to the Texas Workforce Commission First: How to File for Unemployment Benefits

November 27, 2025 | Riley Carter

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Riley Carter

1. Confirm your eligibility

Before you file a claim, determine whether you meet the basic eligibility requirements. Typically you must be unemployed (or partially unemployed), through no fault of your own, able and available for work, actively seeking work, and have sufficient work history and wages. Review the TWC’s Unemployment Benefits Handbook for details.

Episodic Medical Conditions in the Workplace

November 19, 2025 | Robert J. Wiley

Rachel Bethel Dallas
Trial Attorney

Many workers live with medical conditions that are episodic in nature. Symptoms might present only during periods of flare-ups or relapses that interrupt otherwise stable health.

Such conditions may include multiple sclerosis, seizure disorders, severe migraines, bipolar disorder, mood disorders, Crohn’s disease, and autoimmune disorders.

Your Rights as a Tipped Employee

November 17, 2025 | Robert J. Wiley

Most of us will have worked a service industry job at one point. While in undergrad, I waited tables at several different restaurants to save money for law school. Waitressing taught me some really important things: how to carry a tray of champagne glasses without dropping it (I learned that the hard way), that you’ll probably get in trouble for honestly telling customers that you think certain dishes are disgusting (I’m scared of frogs in real life, what would make you think I’d want to eat frog legs?!), and that tips are the lifeblood of a lot of Americans.

This Blog will discuss some important considerations for employees who receive tips.

Tipped Employees and the Tip Credit

When the Company Carves the Turkey—and the Payroll: Your Rights After a Layoff in Texas

November 13, 2025 | Robert J. Wiley

As Thanksgiving approaches, most people are thinking about carving turkeys, not careers. But for many workers in Texas, the end of the year brings a less welcome tradition: company “restructuring.” Each November, employers roll out layoffs, citing budget cuts, reorganizations, or “changing business needs.”

If you’ve been told your position is being eliminated, you may feel blindsided, confused, and unsure what happens next. The good news? Even in Texas—a state known for at-will employment—you still have important rights when it comes to layoffs, severance, and unemployment. Understanding them can help you protect yourself, your finances, and your future.

At-Will Employment Doesn’t Mean “No Rights”

From ‘Bullying’ to Protected Class: Making Your Workplace Complaint Count

November 6, 2025 | Cassidy Monska

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Cassidy Monska

If you’re experiencing discrimination or harassment at work, your first instinct may be to tell someone, but how you report it can make a significant difference in how your complaint is handled and whether you’re protected under the law.

Why Reporting Is Essential

Mental Disability Discrimination vs. Emotional Distress

November 3, 2025 | Robert J. Wiley

In this blog, I address the confusion a number of potential clients have had between the concept of it being unlawful to discriminate against them due to a mental health disability, and the experience of mental anguish or emotional distress caused by their workplace. Specifically, a workplace exacerbating or even creating a mental health disability is not the same thing as being subjected to disability discrimination. Can those two things be related? Very possibly, and they often are. But they are not one-to-one.

First of all, the Americans with Disabilities Act as currently amended – along with various states’ laws – prohibit employers from discriminating against employees (1) because of their disability, (2) because of their past history of having a disability, (3) because they appear to have a disability, or (4) because of their association with another person with disability. And “disability” here is much broader than most people think. It is not just missing a limb or being unable to walk. Rather, a disability protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act is any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. “Major life activities” can include many things, from driving or speaking to concentrating or sleeping.

Thus, if your employer treats you differently because you experience an “invisible” mental disability like anxiety or depression, that can still be disability discrimination. And if you are able to prove that through a lawsuit, you may be able to get various damages from a judge or jury. These could include things like lost wages, but also squishier things like compensatory damages. Compensatory damages include the monetary value of mental anguish or emotional distress that an employee suffered because of unlawful discrimination. To get compensatory damages, you still must prove that they were caused by the employer’s illegal discrimination. And virtually any discrimination claim can potentially support compensatory damages, not just disability discrimination.